I’ll be one of several storytellers at SHINE Storytelling, April 17, 2014, 7:30pm, 2019 14th St., Santa Monica, CA 90405 ($5 donation at the door) on the theme for the evening: Taking the plunge. I’ll talk about going from retired probation officer to actress via a senior acting class I took with my 85-year-old father, and overcoming my stage fright in the process. Check out SHINE’S website at: storiesbloom.com/StoriesBloom/SHINE.html.

Now, onto my blog: Have you ever been cut out of something you were sure was a shoe-in for you like a job promotion, a relationship, or even an appearance on a TV program as happened to me last week? As I blogged about last time, I am one of 60 women profiled in Marlo Thomas’ new book: It Ain’t Over…Till It’s Over. I was contacted a few weeks ago and told I was one of the subjects chosen to be on the Today Show in a video clip in conjunction with Marlo Thomas’ appearance to discuss her book. I jumped though all the hoops they asked for with a very short deadline. I taught myself how to make a short, selfie video on my iPhone. I taught myself how to upload it to a file sharing website as it was too big to email. I searched for some requested photos buried in my desk drawers of myself at my office when I was a probation officer which I then scanned and emailed. My stress level was way up there as you might imagine. On the day of the show, I watched only to discover that I had been cut out. I was very upset as well as embarrassed because I had told everyone I knew that I was going to be on the Today Show; posted it on some online, group discussion sites; and blogged about it right here. After wallowing in “poor me” for awhile, I was able to put it in perspective and turn it around. What had I gained? Well, there was my photo and a lovely story about me tracing my journey from probation officer to actress in Marlo Thomas’ book; I learned how to take a selfie video for when I might need to do it another time; I learned about file sharing websites; and I got a blog subject out of it. When something like this happens, we have choices. Of course, we all have to wallow in self-pity for awhile; that’s human nature. But, wallowing for too long is unproductive and destructive. We do have choices; we can choose to move on and get over ourselves. How long it takes is up to us. Please forward this blog to others. To read my previous blogs, scroll down or click on “Recent Posts” and “Archives” on this page. If you’d like to be on my blog notification list, click here on my book website: AdventuresWithDadTheBook.com and leave me a message under the “Contacts & Links” tab.